Effect of Preservatives and Storage Conditions on Physicochemical and Sensory Quality of Sweet Orange Juice

Fruit juices are susceptible to spoilage in the absence of preservatives. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of preservatives and storage conditions on physicochemical and sensory quality of sweet orange juice. The experiment focused on using treatments of different preservatives viz : P₀: No preservative (Control), P₁: Honey @ 50 ml/L, P₂: Ginger extract @ 3 ml/L, P₃: Cardamom extract @ 5 ml/L, and two storage conditions viz : T₀: Ambient condition (25 ± 2°C) and T₁: Refrigerator condition (4 ± 1°C). The results revealed that the highest pH (4.05, 4.00, 3.90 and 3.75), total soluble solid (11.64, 10.64, 10.15 and 8.64 °Brix), and ascorbic acid content (48.42, 44.49, 41.67 and 37.67 mg/100g) and lowest microbial growth (2.20, 3.13, 4.33 and 5.80 × 10³ cfu/ml) was recorded in honey treated sweet orange juice stored in the refrigerator at 5, 10, 15 and 20 days after storage respectively. The honey-treated juice was the most organoleptically accepted of the treatments. It can be inferred that the quality attributes of honey-treated juice were minimized while maintaining physicochemical and sensory quality when stored in refrigerated conditions. The current work is basically a very useful tool for the industry because it allows the correct adjustment of both sensory quality and microbiological parameters, leading to less returned and spoiled products.